Congress Spends $3.6M on Michelle Obama Trail in GA

By Adam Andrzejewski for RealClearWare

As part of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill passed in December, Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA) appropriated $3.6 million to extend the Michelle Obama Trail outside of Atlanta.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the hiking trail was constructed in 2018 and originally spanned 3.8 miles, connecting Georgia State University’s Clarkston campus with Gresham Park. It was extended by another 2.2 miles in 2021.

Federal funds will go toward another extension: 4.5 miles that will connect Waldrop Road to Martin Luther King Jr. High School. Eventually, the county hopes the trail will connect to the proposed Michelle Obama Park and join a network of about 22 miles of trails as part of the local PATH project.

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While details of the new trail’s construction are unclear, previous expansions of the trail cost $3.9 million and included “a 12-foot-wide path consisting primarily of concrete and a wooden boardwalk section and two steel truss bridges,” according to the county. The press release previously stated that funding for the project has come from local sources, such as the government of Dekalb County where the trail is located.

Johnson allocated a total of $15 million to his district, including $4 million for a youth facility, $1.5 million for the “Memorial Drive Gateway Project” and $400,000 for Georgia State University programs to “expand access to postsecondary education, support English language skills including.”

This hiking trail project should be funded locally over the years.

Syndicated with permission from RealClearWire.

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